The Dutch Republic

Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477-1806

Jonathan Israel

The "Dutch Golden Age", the age of Grotius, Spinoza, Rembrandt, Vermeer, and a host of other renowned artists and writers, was also remarkable for its immense impact in the spheres of commerce, finance, shipping, and technology. It was in fact one of the most spectacularly creative episodes in the history of the world. In this book, Johnathan Israel gives the definitive account of the emergence of the United Provinces as a great power, and explains the subsequent decline in the eighteenth century. He places the thought, politics, religion, and social developments of the Golden Age in their broad context, and examines the changing relationship between the northern Netherlands and the south which was to develop into modern Belgium. This comprehensive and lucid account will be as useful to the reader primarily interested in artistic and cultural history as to the student who needs a survey of the Republic's institutions, class structure, and economic development. At the same time it will provide an invaluable aid to scholars interested in new research and new interpretations.

The Dutch Republic

Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477-1806

Jonathan Israel

Description

"Jonathan Israel's 1,231-page blockbuster forms the inaugural volume of a new series, the Oxford History of Early Modern Europe, and offers a comprehensive, integrated account of the northern part of the Netherlands over almost 350 years...The Dutch Republic represents the fruit of 12 years of research, contemplation and writing, and brims over with interesting detail."--The New York Times Book Review

"Israel performs the great service of charting a path through this literature and presents a coherent and comprehensive picture of the Dutch Republic.... Comprehensive in scope and yet so clearly and carefully written that it could serve as a textbook for graduate history courses. Because it is so thoroughly researched and up-to-date, it is also the kind of indispensable handbook that deserves a place on every early modernist's bookshelf."--American Historical Review

The Dutch Republic

Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477-1806

Jonathan Israel

Table of Contents

PrefaceLists of maps, tables, and abbreviationsPart 1: The Making of the Republic, 1477-1588 1. Introduction2. On the Threshold of a Modern era3. Humanism and the Origins of the Reformation, 1470-15204. Territorial Consolidation, 1516-15595. The Early Dutch Reformation, 1519-15656. Society Before the Revolt7. The Breakdown of the Habsburg Regime, 1549-15668. Repression Under Alva, 1567-15729. The Revolt Begins10. The Revolt and the Emergence of a New StatePart 2: The Early Golden Age, 1588-1647 11. Consolidation of the Republic, 1588-159012. The Republic becomes a Great Power13. The Institutions of the Republic14. The Commencement of Dutch World Trade Primacy15. Society after the Revolt16. Protestantization, Catholicization, Confessionalization17. The Separation of Identities: the Twelve Years Truce18. Crisis Within the Dutch Body Politic, 1607-161619. The fall of the Oldenbarnevelt Regime, 1616-161820. The Calvinist Revolution of the Counter-Remonstrants, 1618-162121. The Republic Under Siege, 1621-162822. The Republic in Triumph, 1629-164723. Art and Architecture, 1509-164824. Intellectual Life, 1572-1650Part III: The Later Golden Age, 1647-1702 25. The Stadholderate of William II, 1647-165026. Society27. Confessionalization, 1647-170228. Freedom and Order29. The Republic at its Zenith I: the 1650s30. The Republic at its Zenith II:1659-167231. 1672: Year of Disaster32. The Stadholderate of William III, 1672-170233. Art and Architecture, 1645-170234. Intellectual Life, 1650-170035. The Colonial EmpirePart IV: The Age of Decline, 1702-1806 36. The Republic of the Regents, 1702-174737. Society38. The Churches39. The Enlightenment40. The Second Orangist Revolution, 1747-175141. The Faltering Republic and the New Dynamism in the `South'42. The Patriot Revolution, 1780-178743. The Fall of the Republic44. DenouementBibliographyIndex

The Dutch Republic

Its Rise, Greatness, and Fall 1477-1806

Jonathan Israel

Reviews and Awards

Named an Outstanding Academic Book for 1995 by Choice

"Jonathan Israel's 1,231-page blockbuster... offers a comprehensive, integrated account of the northern part of the Netherlands over almost 350 years...[it] represents the fruit of 12 years of research, contemplation and writing, and brims over with interesting detail."--The New York Times Book Review

"Those with a serious interest in the history of the Netherlands will not only have to read this book, they will enjoy it."--Sixteenth Century Journal

"Israel performs the great service of charting a path through this literature and presents a coherent and comprehensive picture of the Dutch Republic...is comprehensive in scope and yet so clearly and carefully written that it could serve as a textbook for graduate history courses. Because it is so thoroughly researched and up-to-date, it is also the kind of indispensable handbook that deserves a place on every early modernist's bookshelf."--American Historical Review

"The definitive work on the Low Countries for this spectacular but complex period of history....A major contribution to the field and a superb production; the bibliography, plates, and maps alone are worth the price."--CHOICE

"[T]he book is much more than a description of political evolution. It is a comprehensive and coherent treatment of nearly every aspect of early modern Ducth life....[T]he book's coherent, smooth narratives and clear analyses portray a richly complex setting. The text is well written, and the book's plates, charts, maps, bibliography, and price make it attractive to general and scholarly audiences alike."--The Historian